1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for identification of type and/or authenticity of documents which contain magnetic inks.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are known various bill discrimination devices which are capable of discriminating or identifying bill types (denominations) and/or authenticity of bank notes and other bills which contain magnetic inks. In such bill discrimination devices, discrimination can be carried out by detecting magnetic ink content or the thickness of the bill, as disclosed in the following patent publications.
JP 4-195811 A
JP 2006-4206 A
In order to improve accuracy of discrimination by such devices, it would be preferable to be able to detect both document thickness and magnetic ink content. However, doing so would require increases in the type and number of sensors, possibly resulting in a device that is larger and more complex. No innovations to date have fully addressed this problem.